The Book Bit: June 2023 Ed.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet today. June was a crazy month for us and I'm really glad it's over. I did manage to get some reading done, somehow, and I'd love to share what I read with you! If you want weekly updates and recommendations feel free to check out my YouTube channel, as I post over there weekly. 

"Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time" by Hope Nicholson

This is an indigenous sci-fi anthology that focuses on two-spirit and lgbtq stories. This greatly exceeded my expectations! If you're looking to broaden your scope of rainbow books, I highly recommend this. I absolutely love reading indigenous authors and this was no exception. This collection of short stories was just what I was looking for during pride month. This is one of those books that you just keep on your shelf and peruse when you have a free twenty minutes. If you haven't read any indigenous work, these are great samples to some of the best authors in the community. 

"Love and Other Disasters" by Anita Kelly

Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent her stale life. Fresh off a painful divorce, living in a town she hates, in a job she only likes a little, she's ready to risk everything for a cooking show competition. And risk everything she does. Once she starts the competition, she realizes there's someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.

London is the first non-binary contest on the show; ever. And with that adds an extra slice of pressure to the already difficult competition. While London is highly focused and never ruffled, Dahlia has affected them more than they care to admit. Enough that it may cost them the competition.

Ok, I really loved this! There was a nice combination of fun and flirty with the excitement of competition. I did have some pace issues towards the end, but overall I thought this was great. It was the first book I've read with a non-binary main character (usually I've only gotten them as side characters) and I was really impressed with Kelly's writing. The character development and detail in this book was terrific and I just fell in love with Dahlia and London. 

"Sweet Temptations" by Maya Banks

Micah has done nothing but run from his past the last few years. No one in his current life even knows what he was doing before he came to Houston. And he doesn't want them to know. But when Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend, seeks him out, he can't keep his past contained. And he can't stop thinking about Angelina. 

This is book four of the Sweet Series by Maya Banks and so far it was my least favorite. This is a BDSM novel, so it's highly graphic and highly erotic. The pace for this book was not great and I had trouble slogging through it. The themes were very repetitive and I got bored. The book opened with a huge (and promising) scene and then we had about 10-12 chapters of very slow plot progression. I don't think it was balanced well. I also did this on audiobook and I can say with certainty, this is probably the worst audiobook I've done. I really did not care for the narrator. This book is also very heavy on S&M, impact play, and anal sex, so if those aren't themes you enjoy, I would skip this. I'm not giving up on this series, but this one was definitely not my favorite. 

"Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch

One minute Jason is enjoying a drink with an old friend, promising his wife and son he'll be home soon. The next, he's being kidnapped and worries he'll never make it home again. When Jason wakes up he realizes he's not where he last remembered. And he doesn't think the world he wakes up in is his world at all. 

I would call this a sci-fi thriller and it was definitely interesting. If you enjoy multiverse themes, this is right up your alley. The sciency bits were descriptive enough that I could understand what was happening, but not so heavy that I got bored. We read this for my book club and the response was all pretty positive, but once we started picking it apart there were quite a few plot holes and issues we all had. So, on surface level I think it reads great, but dissecting it too much might disappoint you. 

That's all I read in June! Like I said, it was a bit of a weird month for us and I'm glad we've left it behind. I'm excited about my July lineup and I'm going to try very hard to just have fun this month and not get too stressed. If you have any recommendations, drop me a comment! Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!